Samia Byrd

Biography: Samia Byrd, a native of Hampton, Virginia, has been a resident of Fairfax County since 1995. She has more than 20 years of experience in urban planning, housing and community economic development in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She is the Chief Race and Equity Officer for Arlington County leading the County's work to advance racial equity in the organization and in partnership with the community. She was appointed to this role after serving for three years as Deputy County Manager in Arlington, where her portfolio included the Department of Community Planning Housing and Development which is comprised of the County’s Planning, Housing, Neighborhood Services, Historic Preservation, Zoning and Inspection Services Divisions. She was also liaison to the County Board on behalf of the County Manager. Prior to this position she served as a Principal Planner in Arlington County’s Planning Division. She has managed and facilitated the review of several notable complex, multifaceted, development proposals and, having served as both Site Plan and Use Permit Coordinator, she was instrumental in providing oversight of, and managing the County’s special exception land use and development review processes. Her work as a planner for Arlington County builds upon her career providing consulting expertise, research and information to state and local practitioners on housing and community economic development policy, practices and programs. Prior to joining the County, Ms. Byrd served for more than eight years as a Manager with an affordable housing management consulting firm, Quadel Consulting. She has also served as Director of State Fiscal Analysis and Policy for the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, and a Research Associate with the Urban Land Institute. Ms. Byrd holds both a Bachelor and Master of City Planning from the University of Virginia and Georgia Institute of Technology. She is an Alumni of the ULI Regional Land Use Leadership Institute a